Can you get jail time for cheating on your spouse? Here’s what SC law says
If you cheat on your spouse in South Carolina, you could go to jail, according to the law.
Under South Carolina law, adultery is a misdemeanor offense that could lead to fines or imprisonment. The law also lists “fornication” — or habitually sleeping with someone you aren’t married to — as an offense worthy of the same punishments. However, these laws are rarely enforced in the modern day.
The law defines adultery as “the living together and carnal intercourse with each other or habitual carnal intercourse with each other without living together of a man and woman when either is lawfully married to some other person.”
The punishment for adultery or fornication could be a fine of between $100 and $500, six months to a year in prison, or both, at the court’s discretion.
The state law is considered outdated by many.
A recent incident within Horry County Police raised the issue of adultery as four members of the police department resigned after an internal investigation revealed affairs had occurred between the officers. Several of those involved were married.
And although they weren’t charged criminally under the state law, they were forced to resign under the department’s conduct unbecoming.
Adultery is still sometimes used in divorce proceedings in the state, and can impact the outcomes of alimony, divorce timelines and property division, according to Minor Law Divorce Lawyers.
However, these offenses have not been persecuted in recent times, and the laws date back to the 1800s.
In addition, the military still follows the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s anti-adultery rule, which, if violated by a service member, could result in a court martial.
